Dressage Tips from Charlotte Dujardion at her 2014 Dressage Symposium

(This blog was previously posted on September 21, 2016)

Charlotte Dujardin Dressage Symposium at LAEC, March 2014

Photo by Sara Fogan

On March 8, 2014 and March 9, 2014, I audited a dressage symposium at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, California. Charlotte Dujardin, the Olympic 2012 and 2016 Olympic British individual gold medalist in dressage and reigning world champion in the sport, was the featured clinician. She and her former trainer, International Grand Prix champion Judy Harvey, shared their expertise with six accomplished equestrians and their equally impressive horses to work through specific training issues. Following are some tips and training insights about what to look for in a young horse/competitive dressage prospect that Ms. Dujardin shared during these clinics, which you might find helpful too.

• Temperament: Desire to please and work with you (the trainer/rider)

• Will and adaptability to challenges. “A champion horse has three long tests to do over three days. He must be fit and willing to fight through,” Ms. Dujardin said.

• Quality of gaits. The walk and canter should be good, but the initial quality of the trot is less important. “Don’t worry about the trot; this can be [improved] as it gains more suspension,” she explained. “Gymnastic education develops the horse.”

• Contrary to popular belief, you don’t necessarily want a horse with a very big movement: “They actually don’t last as long as it’s very hard to keep these horses sound,” Ms. Dujardin said.

• Limit the time you spend training a young horse to about 20 minutes, focusing on giving clear leg and rein aids. “Look up, sit up and keep your hands still.”

• It is very important to give the horse plenty of breaks at the walk on a long rein. “When you ask the horse to stretch, his neck and back [will] lengthen but he should stay moving and balanced. The horse has to walk on his own. The rider shouldn’t have to do anything,” she said.

• Ms. Dujardin also advised against sitting the trot on a young horse in order to help strengthen its back for the work to come later in its career. A loose and swinging tail is a great indicator of what the horse’s back muscles are doing, she said. Plus, there is still plenty you can do when practicing a rising trot: “Trot as fast as you can to encourage the horse to build strength—push and suspension—in the hind legs.”

• “Get a clear rhythm and good activity so the horse carries you,” Ms. Dujardin counseled. If your horse tends to be lazy you should take your legs (leg aids) off him, whereas you want to keep your leg (aids) on a hot horse. “You are there to teach the horse, not micro-manage him. You want the leg and reins aids to be clear.”

I will share more of her horse-training and riding suggestions in future blogs.

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2017

Today's Yoga Lesson: Physical vs. Mental Homeostasis During Yoga

(This blog was originally posted on September 20, 2016)

Photo by Rick Hustead

I noticed something very interesting during yoga this morning. As I stood tall and still in the “mountain” position with my feet flat on the floor, I could just detect the tiniest of swaying motion of my body as my muscles and tendons worked to maintain my balance. These movements were so miniscule as to almost go unnoticed. But they were there: constant adjustments of the various muscles, tendons and internal organs to keep the body completely balanced and ready for anything. I could imagine the lightning-fast neural (subconscious) communication between my brain, inner ears and the muscles in my legs and abdomen as I consciously worked to hold this position. 

This experience was just one example of how my body strove to maintain physiological homeostasis (balance) during the class. Other examples were increased breathing and pulse/heart-rates or adjust my stance when transitioning between poses or when I had to work harder to maintain more intense positions. And then something really interesting happened. About halfway through the class, even with the more intense positions and exercise, my breathing and heart-rate seemed to return to a more normal rate for me.  Even though I was still working hard, but it was like my body had become used to this work and was compensating for/working more efficiently to achieve those positions. 

Achieving mental/emotional homeostasis during the class was more challenging for me. Once I made the initial observation about how my body was working to stay in balance, my mind started racing. Wow! This is so interesting! I know what I will write my blog about tonight! It took a few breaths to get focused on what I was doing, and supposed to be doing: practicing yoga, not writing about it! Unlike my physical body, which automatically made adjustments to achieve homeostasis, my conscious mind had to intervene and bring my thoughts, emotions and focus back to what I was supposed to be doing in class. 

Ultimately I did learn a very important lesson today: Even when my body (and mind) is completely still, it is always moving.

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2017

Different Therapeutic Approaches to Treat Fears vs. Phobias

(This blog was originally posted on September 19, 2016)

Fears and phobias/anxiety may reflect similar feelings, but they are actually separate conditions that require different treatments. According to Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., when you have a fear of something, you can attribute the reaction to the memory of a specific incident—usually one that occurred during childhood. Conversely, the phobia is typically associated with a sudden drop in blood-sugar that triggers physiological symptoms including shaking, weakness, confusion, anxiety and even paranoia that have nothing to do with what a specific environmental trigger. However, the resulting subconscious fear of loss of control or even death becomes attributed to that trigger (e.g., fear of flying, insects) because that is the only explicable source of anxiety, according to the conscious mind. 

Both therapies entail educating the individual about the role of nutrition in exacerbating or even triggering the initial fear/phobic response during the cognitive/alert portion of the session. Most important, the hypnotherapist must help the client realize and believe that the person is able to control this reaction. Having said that, each response (fear versus phobia) requires a different hypnotherapeutic approach to achieve this outcome.

Circle therapy enables the person to progressively experience more intense fear reactions during hypnosis and then “pass” through it (relax) to a deeper state of hypnosis. Post-hypnotic suggestions reinforce that the individual is able to control this fear in this way and that the fear response is no longer a necessary part of his or her life. The best way to face a fear is to face it down, Dr. Kappas advised. “Face it by realizing you yourself can create it. You’re not facing the fear, you’re facing the feeling,” he explained. 

Conversely, phobias start from physiological feelings that the person fears will result in loss of control or even death. While this reaction can be triggered by dreams or stress, it’s generally an illogical fear response and not based on personal experience. The best way to treat a phobia is by using systematic desensitization and double-bind techniques that work together to gradually reduce the negative association/response while making the response increasingly difficult to experience. Circle therapy is not used to work through a phobia because the technique can reinforce or even exacerbate the negative response.

However, a long-held fear can also morph into agoraphobia, or a fear of open spaces, Dr. Kappas warned. It is possible to manage agoraphobia through diet/nutrition, a therapeutic approach that is recommended and effective to control other phobias. It is important to deal with any relapse of the original fear right away and then start dealing with anticipatory anxiety about experiencing that fear, which has likely developed through the agoraphobic response.

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2017